Process

Here is a walkthrough of the process of creating one of the Tarot of Trees cards–in this case, the Three of Swords. I began with sketching and meditating on the card itself and then, when I’m ready, sit down and begin to paint.

Here are some of the supplies I use–I like a Korean brand of watercolors called “Shin Han.” They are vibrant and amazing!

Here is the originl sketch of the card. This is done in pencil.

Now I start putting in some of the background. I have to work quickly or the watercolors will dry!

Now I’m starting to layer the background colors to get the variation in the background. This background style was used for all of the swords cards.

Two more colors are added.

The background is shaping up!

After waiting for the background to dry, I start adding the original heart color.

More details are added to the heart and I now have the original layer of color on the trunk.

More layers of color are added. Now all that is left is some white acrylic and ink!